Ceramics
Code: C1114-23
-
IV
Level IV
Students have advanced skills and knowledge of the ceramics field. Students are highly motivated, have a minimum of five years experience in the field and have a portfolio of their artwork. Typical students are academics and professional artists.
The Center: The Mold and Matrix: Ceramic Process and Narrative Form
Aug 14 - 25, 2023
9AM-5PM
Concept
This three-year mentorship program is intended for ceramic artists interested in critical feedback as well as being immersed in a creative community who are at a point of transition in their lives, careers, or artistic practices. Emphasis is placed on seeking connections, metaphors, and symmetries between processes for forming clay and developing ways of generating meaning. The objects we make tell stories and propose worlds. A coil or mold are both techniques for forming clay and also propositions about the meaningful interface of material, body, mind, economy, and culture. We focus on ways stories emerge from physical objects and how narratives give structure to physical form. We welcome participants from many different backgrounds and experiences, centering on work in clay but with the potential for different outcomes: work in other materials, writing, sculpture or design.
This is the first year of a 3-year program; please note that the cost of tuition, studio fee, and the registration fee is per year.
If you have an interest in joining this program, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please send your portfolio to our Studio Coordinator of Ceramics Joanne Lee if you’re interested in joining.
Media & Techniques
Handbuilding, wheel throwing, mold making, gas firing, electric firing, stoneware, porcelain
Supply ListFaculty
Ebitenyefa Baralaye
Ebitenyefa Baralaye is a ceramicist, sculptor, and educator. His work explores objects, text, bodies, and patterns abstracted through a diaspora lens and the aesthetics of craft. Baralaye’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He is currently an assistant professor in Ceramics at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI.
Del Harrow
Del Harrow lives and works in Fort Collins, CO, with his wife, potter Sanam Emami, and their son, William. He is a Colorado State University professor teaching sculpture, digital fabrication, and ceramics. His work is in the permanent collections of the Arizona State University Art Museum, The US State Department Art in Embassies Collection, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Del Harrow, Simmel
Ceramics
In 1966, American ceramicist Paul Soldner selected the site for what is now Anderson Ranch Arts Center, forming the foundation for a thriving ceramics program. Then and now, Anderson Ranch is a place where students exchange ideas and examine ceramic art and pottery techniques. It has always been a place where seminal moments of growth happen in an artist’s creative and critical thinking. Here, both beginning and emerging artists gain strong fundamental support, while established artists achieve new perspectives and advance their techniques.
The Ranch Ceramics team provides support, feedback and technical problem-solving, giving each artist the freedom to experiment and grow. Our primary focus is on personal advancement through a process of creative discovery.
The Soldner Ceramics Center makes up more than 10,000 square feet in three buildings with 3 studio spaces and 1 kiln yard; Soldner Studio, Long Studio, Sorenson Studio and Lyeth/Lyon Kiln Building. Soldner and Long studios are used for wheel-throwing, hand-building, or general ceramics creativity. Sorenson studio is equipped with five PotterBot 3d clay printers. The Lyeth/Lyon kiln building is equipped with gas, electric, soda and wood kilns for both oxidation and reduction firing at all temperature ranges. The Ranch offers three wood kilns including a gas/wood hybrid kiln, three gas reduction kilns, one soda kiln and eleven high-temperature electric kilns.
Anderson Ranch is happy to extend a tuition discount* in summer one- or two-week adult ceramics workshops** for NCECA members at the student membership level or above. Please email reg@
Workshop Details
Workshop Supplies
For general information about studio access, shipping, and more, please visit our info page.
If you have any questions regarding your supplies for your workshop, please contact Joanne Seongweon Lee, [email protected].
Lodging & Meals
Housing is limited and includes shared and private lodging options. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you reserve housing, the better your chance of receiving your preferred option. Please note: Workshop costs do not include accommodations.
NEW: Tuition includes a welcome dinner and lunches. In our effort to foster a stronger sense of community and accessibility at Anderson Ranch, we include the welcome dinner and all lunches as part of the tuition for summer workshop students. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage all students to come together to share meals and engage in meaningful conversations. The Ranch Café Meal Plan, which is included with Room and Board fees, strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. Learn more.
We have established a Business Safety Plan with added layers of precaution that prioritize the health and safety of our staff, students, faculty and guests while continuing to provide you with the Anderson Ranch experience that you know and enjoy.
Scholarships, College Credit & Discounts
Making Art Accessible
Applications for scholarship support are encouraged. Specific scholarships are funded by Ranch supporters, either through endowed funds or special gifts.
Many colleges and universities offer college credit for workshops taken at Anderson Ranch. Discounts are available for students and teachers.
You Might Also Be Interested In
-
II
Level II
Students have a basic understanding of forming techniques, such as throwing and hand building. Students have taken one or two ceramics classes or workshops.
-
III
Level III
Students have significant experience with clay forming techniques, such as throwing, hand building and modeling. Students are comfortable with ceramics equipment, such as wheels, extruders and slab rollers. Students are self-starting with some formal training and have taken a minimum of three classes or workshops.
Jun 23 - Jul 4, 2025
9AM-5PM
Pouring Pots
Seth Green
Tuition $2,010
Code C0405-25
The focus of this wheel-throwing/hand-building workshop is on learning how to make a variety of different spouts for pouring pots such as teapots, pitchers, and ewers. Time is dedicated to form-making demonstrations on the wheel as well as spout, lid, and handle assembling techniques. Students have the opportunity to make simple plaster press molds and paper templates in addition to using the wheel to make spouts. Ultimately, the workshop gives participants the skills they need to confidently take their pouring pots to the next level in their future making opportunities.
-
O
Open to All
Students of any skill and knowledge level.
-
Ages 13-17
Jun 23 - 27, 2025
9AM-3PM
Wheel Throwing for Teens
Molly Altman
Tuition $725
Code C0407-25
Discover the endless possibilities of clay through pottery’s many creative forms, including bowls, plates, cups, and mugs. This workshop, designed specifically for teens, introduces students to the potter’s wheel. Students start with centering the clay and work their way to the creation of forms. Students decorate their vessels with the Italian technique of maiolica, a white glaze that serves as a canvas for painting decoration.
-
II
Level II
Students have a basic understanding of forming techniques, such as throwing and hand building. Students have taken one or two ceramics classes or workshops.
-
III
Level III
Students have significant experience with clay forming techniques, such as throwing, hand building and modeling. Students are comfortable with ceramics equipment, such as wheels, extruders and slab rollers. Students are self-starting with some formal training and have taken a minimum of three classes or workshops.
Jun 23 - Jul 4, 2025
9AM-5PM
Personal and Poetic: Contemporary Ceramic Totemic Sculpture
Yana Payusova
Tuition $1,910
Code C0406-25
Students spend two weeks creating a large-scale totemic sculpture assembling hand-built forms. Thematically, this workshop investigates the importance of materiality to recollection and personal narrative, as well as the emotional tension within memory, materiality, and identity. Students are introduced to a variety of surface decoration techniques and approaches.